Welcome to The Clinical Multiple. Every Monday, we cut through the noise and deliver a 3-minute executive brief on the exact EBITDA multiples, regulatory shifts, and acquisition strategies driving the UK Dental and Veterinary markets.
Here is what you need to know for Q3 2026.
🐾 Veterinary M&A: The CMA Cooling Effect
The golden era of 12x–14x EBITDA multiples for standard independent vet practices is officially over. The ongoing Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into the dominance of Large Veterinary Groups (LVGs) like CVS and IVC Evidensia has effectively frozen mega-rollups.
What this means for sellers: Because the massive corporates are terrified of triggering anti-monopoly blocks, they have pulled back from aggressive bidding wars.
The New Buyers: Mid-tier consolidators and private equity firms who previously couldn’t compete with LVG pricing are now dominating the acquisition space.
The Current Multiples: Premium, multi-vet sites are currently trading at 8.5x – 10x EBITDA. Single-site practices heavily reliant on a retiring clinical director are seeing offers drop to 6x – 7.5x.
The Play: If you are selling, you must prove your practice can operate profitably without your clinical hours. Buyers are heavily discounting practices with “key-man risk.”
🦷 Dental M&A: The Private Revenue Premium
While the vet market cools, the dental market is splitting into two entirely different economies based on NHS exposure.
With the continued flight of associates away from NHS contracts and the rising costs of lab fees, corporate buyers are pricing risk directly into their offers.
Q3 2026 Dental Multiples Breakdown:
Heavy NHS (Over 70% NHS revenue): 5.5x – 6.5x EBITDA. Buyers are pricing in the risk of associate recruitment and UDA underperformance clawbacks.
Mixed Practice (50/50 split): 6.5x – 7.5x EBITDA.
Fully Private (Over 80% Private/Plan revenue): 7.5x – 8.5x+ EBITDA. High-end cosmetic and implant-led clinics in affluent postcodes are still commanding bidding wars from boutique dental groups.
The Bottom Line for Dentists: Every 10% of revenue you shift from NHS to private capitation plans (like Denplan) disproportionately increases your exit multiple.
If you are evaluating an exit or looking to acquire in Q4, reply directly to this email. I read every response.
Isaac Bishop Founder & Editor | The Clinical Multiple